Sole-pressing machine



W. C. STEWART.

SOLE PRESSING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED Ammo, 1919.

1,327,179. Patentd Jan. 6,1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- fitness I nv'entor W. C, STEWART.

SOLE PRESSING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APILSO, 1919.

Patented J an. 6, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2- Fig.2

Inventor UNITE STATS ATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM G. STEWART, 0F SWAMPSCOTT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORTO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPQRATION, 0F PATEBSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SOLE-PRESSING MACHIN E.

Application filed April 30, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, "Wham-mt C. STEWART, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Swampscott, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful. Improvements in Sole-Pressing Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to sole clamping mechanism for machines adapted to press and shape flat soles preparatory to incorporating them in boots or shoes.

The invention is intended primarily as an improvement in the sole clamping mechanism of the machine shown and described in Patent No. 1,277,769, September 3, 1918, although not confined in its application thereto.

The sole clamping mechanism of the above patent is adapted to be operated by the operator both to release the molded sole and to clamp an unmolded sole while the corresponding form is in position of presentation. The manual operation of the clamping mechanism to clamp the sole is desirable, since it permits the sole to be accurately positioned and clamped before start ing the machine, and also insures a suflicient dwell of the other set of molds in molding position to properly mold the sole, and the clamping mechanism of the present inven tion is thus operated to clamp the sole. An additional mechanism is provided, however, which automatically actuates the clamping mechanism to unclamp the sole, thus relieving the operator of the work and attention incident to manually effecting the unclamping as well as the clamping.

The preferred form of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of so much of a twin sole molding machine as is necessary to illustrate the application of the present invention thereto; Fig. 2 is a detail side elevation of the sole clamping mechanism; and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same.

In the drawings the invention is shown applied to the machine of the patent above referred to. This machine is provided with the upper forms 2, lower forms 4 carried on slides 6 which are moved horizontally on Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 6, 1920.

Serial No. 293,828.

vertically reciprocating cross-heads 8 by the cam levers 10 and yielding links 12, as in the machine of said patent.

The work is clamped in position on each form at by a gripper arm 14, the rear end of which is secured to a rocking block 16. The block is pivoted in a bracket 18 on the slide 8, and is rocked to close or open the gripper by a cam 20 mounted in the bracket and engaging a roll 22 on the block. The roll is held in engagement with the cam by a spring 2%, and the cam is provided with alternating high and low parts which act to close and open the gripper as the cam is rotated step by step. The cam is thus rotated through a ratchet wheel 26 secured to the end of the cam carrying shaft28.

The ratchet wheel and connected cam are manually actuated to close the clamp (and may be actuated to open it) by a pawl arm 30, the lower end of which is pivoted on a lever 32, and the upper end of which carries two laterally projecting pins adapted to engage the ratchet wheels corresponding to the two forms 4. as the corresponding slides come into positions of presentation. The lever 32 is mounted upon the machine frame, and is connected by a link 34. with the rear end of a lever 36, the front end of which projects forward into convenient reach .of the operator. A spring 38 holds the pawl arm 30 in normal position upon the lever 32, and a spring 40 holds the levers 32 and 36 in normal position, as indicated in Fig. 2. When the form 1 is in its forward position of presentation the pawl arm is in operative relation to the ratchet wheel, and the ratchet wheel and cam may be actuated to advance the cam a step to close the gripper or to close, open and reclose the gripper, by a depression or successive depressions of the lever 36. The ratchet wheel and connected cam are automatically actuated to open the gripper as the form moves into position of presentation by a second pawl arm 42, the rear end of which is pivoted to a bracket 44 secured to the cross-head 8, and the forward end of which is provided with a laterally projecting pin adapted to engage the teeth of the ratchet wheel. This pawl arm is so arranged that during the forward movement of the form 4 and slide 6 from position in register with the form 2 to position of presentation the pin in the pawl arm will act on a tooth of the ratchet wheel to turn the ratchet wheel and connected cam a step forward, and thus bring a high part of the cam under the roll 22 to raise and open the gripper. When the ratchet wheel is operated manually to close the gripper the pin in the pawl arm 42 rides idly over a tooth in the ratchet wheel, and during the rearward movement of the form into alinement with the upper form the pawl arm rides on the bearing for the shaft 28. The means for automatically closing the grippers may be readily rendered inactive if desired by swinging the pawl arms 42 back out of active position.

While it is preferred to employ the specific construction and arrangement of parts in applying the invention to the machine of the patent above referred to, it will be understood that this construction and arrangement is not essential to the broader features of the invention, and may be varied or modified without departing therefrom.

WVhat is claimed is z 1. A sole pressing machine, having, in combination, cooperating sole pressing forms, mechanism for relatively actuating the forms to move them into and out of alinement, a sole gripper, mechanism under the control of the operator for actuating the gripper to grip and release the sole, and mechanism for automatically actuating the gripper to release the sole. 7

2. A sole pressing machine, having, in combination, a sole supporting form, a transversely moving slide on which the form is mounted, a sole gripper on the slide, mechanism on the slide for opening and closing the gripper, manually operated actuating means operatively connected with said mechanism in one position only of the slide, and means for automatically actuating said mechanism to open the gripper.

3. A sole pressing machine, having, in combination, a sole supporting form, a

transversely moving slide on which the form is mounted, a sole gripper on the slide, a cam on the slide for opening and closing the gripper, a hand controlled mechanism supported independently of the slide and operatively connected with the cam in one position only of the slide, and means for automatically actuating the cam to open the gripper.

4-. A sole pressing machine, having, in combination, a sole supporting form, a sole gripper, a rotating cam connected to open and close the gripper, a ratchet wheel connected with the cam, a manually operated pawl for turning the ratchet wheel, and a pawl for automatically turning the wheel to open the gripper.

5. A sole pressing machine, having, in combination, a sole supporting form, a transversely moving slide on which the form is mounted, a sole gripper on the slide, a rotary cam on the slide connected to open and close the gripper, a ratchet wheel connected with the cam, a hand operated pawl for turning the ratchet wheel, and a pawl arranged to engage and turn the ratchet wheel during the transverse movement of the slide.

6. A sole pressing machine, having, in combination, a sole supporting form, a sole gripper, a rotary cam connected to open and close the gripper, a ratchet wheel connected with the cam, and an automatically acting pawl for turning the wheel.

7 A sole pressing machine, having, in combination, a sole supporting form, a transversely moving slide on which the form is mounted, a reciprocating head on which the slide is mounted, a sole gripper on the slide, a rotary cam on the slide connected to open and close the gripper, a ratchet wheel connected with the cam, and a pawl carried by the head for actuating the ratchet wheel during the transverse movement of theslide.

WILLIAM G. STEWART. 

